Books For The 4th of July

It is almost time to celebrate the birthday of our nation!  Here are some books to read to your kiddos to help them learn more about our country:

 The 4th of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh introduces young readers to all of the major players in the Declaration of Independence and how and why the document was created. It also shows how the news of this document spread and how it affected those along the way. The illustrations are beautiful and show what life was like during this amazing time in our history.

The Story of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Patricia A. Pingry tells the story of what inspired  Francis Scott Key  during the Battle of Baltimore in 1814 to write the poem that would  later become our National Anthem. The book also explains all the ways to show respect as the song is played or sung.

We the People by Lynne Cheney teaches the history and importance of our Constitution.














  The Story of America's Birthday by Particia Pingry is suitable for toddlers on up.  It teaches about our country's birthday with beautiful illustrations and simple text.


Crankee Doodle is a humorous take on Yankee Doodle's ride to town.  It also explains what they mean by "calling it macaroni"!

ipad Apps for Kids for Dummies book review

I got an iPad for my birthday last year - and I absolutely LOVE it!  The only thing that I don't absolutely LOVE is the fact that my kids hijack it a great deal of the time.  Luckily for me, I was able to review the book ipad Apps for Kids for Dummies so I could find some apps for them that are kid friendly and a great way to sneak in learning!

My kids really think they know everything about the iPad and the apps available, but I found a ton of great ones in this book that they didn't know about at all.  The author, Jinny Gudmundsen is the Kid Tech columnist for USA Today, so she really is the go-to expert about all things tech for kids.

The book is really user friendly with sections divided by both age group and category.  Each review in the book details the name of the app, the cost, who made it, followed by a brief description.  The reviews end with an age range of who the app is most suited for.  And although the apps are classified as "kid apps" I have enjoyed quite a few myself!

Smart Chefs Stay Slim Book Review

I recently had the opportunity to read the book Smart Chefs Stay Slim by Allison Adato.  The author is a People magazine editor who started to lose the battle of the bulge as she wrote stories about the restaurant world.  Hoping to combat that, she looked towards the experts - chefs who kept themselves thin.

One thing that I really loved about this book, is that it is different from any other book I have read before, mixing healthy eating tips with yummy recipes.  The tips are very relate-able, and easy to implement.  For example, one of the tips is "They eat only treats they make themselves" which talks about bringing food that you might normally purchase (such as potato chips) back into the kitchen where they are much healthier.

Another thing that I really enjoyed about the book is that unlike many diet books that list out all of the things that you CAN'T eat - this book really embraces food and lets you know how to maintain your weight while still enjoying what you eat.

From the book's press release:

The book also goes into detail about the following topics that parents everywhere will be dying to hear:

• How chefs like Cat Cora, Marc Murphy, Ming Tsai and Naomi Pomeroy feed their kids
• Chefs’ tips for introducing your children to the healthy foods you want to eat as a family (and getting off the mac + cheese or chicken fingers train)
• What great chefs like Michael Symon, Wolfgang Puck, Michelle Bernstein and others learned from their own parents (even when mom and dad were terrible cooks!)
• Alison, the author of Smart Chefs is a mom — find out what she changed about how she feeds her family while talking to 40 of the country's best chefs

SMART CHEFS STAY SLIM will help keep New Year’s resolutions to:

·        Cook at home more (without creating a lot of work and mess). Best news: Restaurant chefs don't cook at home like they cook at work—they're just like us and don't want a lot of pots to clean up. Which famous chef uses a toaster oven for dinner? Which likes take-out roast chicken? Who cops to instant oatmeal? 

·        Eat more vegetables (and make them taste terrific)

·        Choose meals with less fat and calories — but much more flavor and satisfaction.

·        Why you should never give up dessert—especially chocolate—even if you're dieting

With a foreword by Art Smith, SMART CHEFS STAY SLIM is a beautifully written, fun and accessible journey into the private world of some of the best chefs in the world. Recipes include Rick Bayless’s Grilled Chicken Salad with Rustic Guacamole, Ming Tsai’s Pork Fried Rice, Andrea Reusing’s Warm Asparagus Salad with Soft-boiled Eggs, Simpson Wong’s Hangover Soup, Karen Hatfield’s Apple Galette and much more.

You can learn more at the book's blog SmartChefs.  You can purchase the book at Amazon. It is on sale right now so you will get a great deal!

Disclaimer: I was provided with a review copy to facilitate this post.  All opinions are my own.

Beside Still Waters Book Review

Ever since I was a little girl, I have had a fascination with the Amish lifestyle.  It is amazing to me that people can still keep the ways of long ago, without sucumbing to the pleasures (and frustrations) of modern life.  I know that I am way too addicted to the internet to ever give it up, but it still amazes me that there are people who happily do without.

I have enjoyed several books (such as Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult) and movies (such as ), so I was excited when I was given the opportunity to read Beside Still Waters by Tricia Goyer. 

The novel follows the life of a young Amish girl, 19 year old, Marianna Sommer who like most young adults thinks that she knows the way her life is headed.  She is prepared to follow the traditions of her Amish Community.  She looks forward to being Baptized in her Church,  marrying a good Amish boy, Aaron Zook, and settling down in the same community that she has always lived in to raise a family.  Then unexpectedly, her father makes an announcement that will rock her world and force her to question all that she has known.

Marianna and her family make the trek from Indiana to Montana and find a new Amish Community that is not as strict as the one they have come from.  Suddenly Marianna is faced with questions and doubts that she has never had before. Should she keep the ways that she has always known?  Will she find a way to be true to both her family and her faith?  Further complicating matters is her budding friendship with Ben Stone, a young man outside of her community.  I found myself rooting for Marianna to keep her traditions, while at the same time wanting her to forget everything to be with Ben.  It was almost as if I was struggling to make the decisions along with Marianna!

Although I had never read a book by Tricia Goyer prior to this, I must say that I have found a new favorite writer to follow, an am looking forward to reading more!  The characters were so deep, compelling, and real.   Beside Still Waters is a rich and emotional tale of coming of age, of finding your faith, and your place in the world as you grow up and begin to live your own life away from your family. 

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of the Beside Still Waters Campaign and received a copy of the book and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Telling Time Lesson Plan

When the clock strikes one, a fun-loving mouse runs up the clock. But what happens when the clock strikes two? A cat gets hungry for mouse-tail stew . . . and the chase is on! Hour by hour, more animals - and even a few people - join in. The crowd charges into the barnyard, dashes through the kitchen, and eventually heads right into the middle of town. Keep your eye on the many clocks in this book and follow along until this twelve-hour race comes to a surprising end!

This book would be perfect to use to reinforce time telling practice! The familiar nursery-rhyme on page one will have students chuckling, but the rhymes only get funnier as the story goes on!

Hickory dickory dock,
a mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck ONE.
He said, "What fun!"
(But the mouse was in for a shock.)

Hickory dicory doo, the grandfather clock struck two.
It woke the cat, who sprang from his mat,
hungry for mouse-tail stew.

Hickory dickory dore,
the dashed across the floor,
splattering food (how terribly rude)
as the cuckoo cuckooed four.

Read the book first with your child, so he or she is familiar with the rhyming text and notice the clock on each page, how the time is noted. A day later reread the book, giving them  a  practice clock.  If you don't have one, you can make one here. Instead of reading the book from front to back, I would read the pages randomly, asking the child to make their own clock read the time that is read in the riddle.

Learning Activities:

Practice telling time to the hour with this worksheet.

Practice telling time with this fun math center. 

Practice telling time with this worksheet.

Angel Song by Sheila Walsh & Kathryn Cushman

You know those books that keep you up late at night anxious to finish reading as tears stream down your face?  Angel Song by Sheila Walsh & Kathryn Cushman is one of those books. The novel tells the story of Ann Fletcher, a  talented New York interior designer, who returns home to Charleston to see her younger sister Sarah receive her Master's Degree. Once there, Ann finds herself not in the seats of a graduation ceremony, but in the back of an ambulance as Sarah fights for her life. During the ride Sarah appears to talk to someone who is not there, humming a melody Annie has never heard before. That melody continues to haunt Ann throughout the novel until she understands that it is the music of angels who have come to protect her.  Reeling from the tragic loss of her sister, Ann does not know how to deal with the love and support that she begins to receive from her sister's friends who all seem to love and accept her immediately even though they hardly know her. Sarah and her friends are Christians, but Ann has a hard time accepting or believing  in God. She figured that if Christians still suffered pain and tragic accidents, that was proof God didn't exist because you'd think God would at least help those who worshiped him.  When a 12 year old neighbor boy with down syndrome begins drawing pictures of her with angels, she can't help but be curious, and she delves into research about angels on the internet.

To complicate matters even further, Ann is dealing with the stress of her job and  a difficult new client who may have romantic intentions toward Ann, while Ann finds herself more and more drawn towards a childhood friend who helps fix up her family home in Charleston to sell.

I really enjoyed this book, and I think you will too!  You can purchase the book below, or you can enter to win my copy!





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